


Billdip Drabbles & One-shots

by shootingstarcipher



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Angst, Drabbles, Fluff, M/M, Possible smut, Romance, oneshots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-23
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-09-19 11:47:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9438785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shootingstarcipher/pseuds/shootingstarcipher
Summary: A collection of drabbles and one-shots centred around Billdip, either from prompts sent to me on tumblr or my own.





	1. Bowling

He hadn’t have expected to be anything less than perfect when it came to such human recreational activities, but he just hadn’t realised how different it would be to anything he’d ever done before. Not only that, but he hadn’t accounted for just how much happiness the simple action of knocking down a gathering of pins at the end of a well-polished lane with a brightly-coloured ball could bring to a mere mortal like Dipper Pines. Even the suggestion that they would go to one of these so called “bowling alleys” together had put a sparkle in the human’s eye that Bill hadn’t been able to fathom. He’d only suggested it because he knew mortals like Pine Tree enjoyed it, but he had completely underestimated how much joy it would bring.

And how hard it would be to aim.

On the one hand, the way Dipper’s face lit up every time he knocked down almost every pin with one swing of his arm was the exact reason why Bill had suggested going there in the first place. But on the other, he couldn’t stand how much better at it than him the human was. Pine Tree’s movements were swift and fluid, his scarlet bowling ball successfully knocking over every pin on a few occasions and when it didn’t, he ended up mowing them down with his next throw and getting a spare. In comparison, Bill’s movements were stiff and erratic, with his own sapphire ball missing the pins entirely more often than not.

Halfway through the game, just as the blond was making his way over to pick up his ball, Dipper stopped him to make a well-intentioned though not exactly appreciated offer. “You could, you know…” he started, trailing off into silence as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. Bill’s temper was well-known to him and he had no desire to make him snap right there and then in the middle of their date, especially in a public place. Bill’s outbursts were usually no more than a nuisance he had to put up with if he was serious about them being together, but for people who had no idea he was a demon or that beings such as demons even existed, they could potentially be psychologically damaging.

“I could what, Pine Tree? Spit it out!” the blond suddenly demanded, bowling ball in hand, after waiting impatiently for a moment or so for the mortal to finish his sentence.

“Why don’t you use the bumper guards?” Dipper suggested with a coy smile, struggling to hide his pride in his own abilities when compared with the being who usually bested him, particularly when he used magic to get his own way. But they’d agreed this time on a no magic rule that Bill had promised to abide by, although Dipper had been sceptical that he would. “They’ll stop your ball from winding up in the gutter… every time,” he couldn’t help muttering under his breath, hoping that the demon wouldn’t hear him but knowing that he probably would.

For a moment, Bill said nothing, but stood with his free hand curled into a fist, his golden eye glowing as he glared down at the brunet, mouth contorted into a snarl. “Why should I? You don’t use them.”

“But I don’t…” He stopped himself finishing, but it was already too late. Bill knew exactly what he was going to say. And yet, instead of instantly throwing himself into an aggressive rage – one that Dipper was used to handling by now – the blond’s gaze softened, suddenly appearing dejected, and he lowered his head and turned away, heading back to the bench, where he sat and hung his head, sulking. “I didn’t mean it,” Dipper called after him, following him and sitting down beside him.

Bill didn’t look at him, but kept his head bowed and his gaze fixed on the floor. “Yes, you did. You’re just… I guess you’re just better than me.” Before now, Dipper had thought that the day Bill Cipher finally admitted he wasn’t the best at everything would be the happiest day of his life. But now that it had happened, he hated it. He hated how guilty the demon was making him feel, even though he hadn’t done anything wrong. And that, sad, pathetic look on his face that made him feel like he was ruining his entire life just by beating him in a simple game. And not to mention the way he was pouting, and his high-pitched, whiny voice as he pined for his attention.

Just to shut him up, before the demon could make any more complaints about his lack of skill when it came to human games, Dipper jerked back his head, wrapped one arm around his waist and silenced him with a chaste, gentle kiss which Bill immediately returned and melted into. It would hopefully calm him down and give him the chance to clear his head, but at the same time it was just as likely to over-excite the demon and result in an argument later if he still refused to accept that he was losing the game like a reasonable person. But at least one thing was certain: there would be no more sulking.


	2. Sickness

This time he’d barely noticed Pine Tree wasn’t there, having been asleep the whole time the human was away at school. On a usual day, Dipper walked out of every lesson with at least eight or nine missed calls or text messages on his phone, each one of them from Bill, but today he walked out of the school building frantically checking his phone and finding no sign that the demon had tried to contact him since the day before. It was only when he arrived home to a locked door and a seemingly empty house that he found out what was wrong.

Bill woke up – in a cold sweat – to the sound of the front door being unlocked. He sat bolt upright, panic surging through his veins for more than one reason. Where was Pine Tree? What time was it? Why was his throat so sore? Why was everything aching? He felt cold and his whole body was shivering, but one hand pressed against forehead quickly told him he was burning up. He stifled a yawn and laid back down again, exhaustion and frustration with his lack of understanding of his own human body taking over his panic and overwhelming him. He just wanted Pine Tree. He would explain what was going on with him. Where was Pine Tree?

As it happened, Dipper stepped through to the living room the moment he called out for him in his mind. For a moment, Bill felt nothing but relief – for a moment. Then it was back to the pain and exhaustion he’d been feeling all day. He mumbled something under his breath – something barely audible, barely coherent but undoubtedly a command that the mortal went to him – and tilted his head back, letting his eyes fall to a gentle close. If it hadn’t been for Dipper rushing to his side and firmly placing a hand against his forehead, brushing aside his bangs in the process, the demon would have gone right back to sleep without even trying to fight off his tiredness.

“Bill? Are you feeling alright?” The concern in his voice was what really made Bill fight to stay awake. Without opening his eyes, he shook his head and groaned, using one hand to claw at Dipper’s shirt and pull him closer. “You didn’t call today. I was worried.” Bill said nothing in reply but nodded in understanding, his cold clammy hand tightening its grip on the human’s shirt.

“Pine Tree, what’s wrong with me?” His voice shook and he detested the sound of it – weak, pathetic, and so unbelievably human.

“You’re just sick, Bill. It’s nothing to worry too much about.” The dismissal in his words bothered the demon, but he gave a small smile at the acknowledgement that it was not reflected in his voice. “Have you eaten anything today?” Bill shook his head again. He’d been asleep all day. He hadn’t eaten a single thing, nor had he drunk anything at all. He clutched at Dipper again as the human got up from his crouching position beside him to go and fetch a glass of water from the kitchen, but eventually had to let him go; his sick, disease-ridden human body was too weak now to hold Pine Tree where he wanted him.

As soon as Dipper returned, he took the glass with one hand and reached out for the mortal with the other. This time, Dipper laced their fingers together and sat down on the floor next to the sofa, facing the blond. “Have you been sick?” the brunet asked tentatively, pleased when the demon shook his head that he didn’t have a mess to clean up. “Do you want to…”

Bill cut him off with a yawn. He had been going to ask if he wanted to watch something on the TV, which of course the demon did not but he knew Pine Tree wanted to have some sort of entertainment if he was going to be stuck taking care of him all evening. “No. And I don’t want to talk either. I just want…” He knew what he wanted. He just didn’t know how to ask for it.

So he silenced himself and grabbed at Dipper’s hand, pulling him towards him with so little strength it barely made a difference but just enough to let the mortal know that he wanted him to stand up. He did as the demon was asking and got to his feet, automatically wondering if there was anything he needed. “Sit with me,” Bill whimpered quietly. He moved his legs out of the way so that Dipper could sit down beside him and once he did, he crawled over and lay down with his head resting on Pine Tree’s lap. Dipper put his arm around him without thinking, stroking the blond’s tangled mess of hair without stopping for even a second to consider what he was doing. Bill didn’t seem to mind, once he did realise what he was doing he didn’t bother stopping.

Letting out a small, pitiful mewl, the demon shifted his position so that his face was pressing against Pine Tree’s stomach. For a split second, as he moved, Dipper let go of the blond’s hair but only succeeded in aggravating him. “Carry on,” Bill demanded, his words muffled by the brunet’s shirt. The mortal promptly resumed stroking his hair, only half because he was being told to. Bill’s lips curled into a content, relaxed smile and opened his mouth halfway, sharp teeth poking out from behind his lips to jab at the fabric of Dipper’s shirt. It was strangely soothing, lying there chewing the human’s shirt. He made a mental note to do it more often.

Exhaustion was clawing at him again, nipping at the back of his mind. “Pine Tree,” he whispered, his voice obscured by an uncontrollable yawn. “Don’t let go of me, okay?” He hated this sickness and what it was doing to him – how it was making him so vulnerable and how he had no choice but to show his weakness to Dipper if he wanted him to go along with his demands. “Just, stay like this. I like this.” The last thing he felt was Dipper’s lips gently pressing against the top of his head and then he was drifting out of consciousness again, clinging onto Pine Tree like he was his only lifeline.


	3. Nightmares

Having Bill stay over was turning out to be nowhere near as frustrating or as horrifying as he’d expected it to be. He might have even called it “pleasant” though that may have been a bit of a stretch. Knowing that Mabel would be sleeping over at a friend’s house, leaving her side of their shared bedroom empty, Dipper had been dreading this night for weeks. And then when Bill Cipher had turned up out of the blue in the body of a young, one-eyed blond that afternoon and announced his intention to stay the night, he had thought it was only going to go downhill from there.

But Bill’s presence had calmed his nerves – at least once he’d gotten used to the idea of him hanging around – and he’d started to forget about his loneliness about an hour into the demon’s visit. They barely spoke. Bill spent most of the time sitting and observing him, curious about the ins and outs of normal human life. He’d only started to get particularly irritating when he was struggling to eat the pizza Dipper had ordered for them and was complaining about the texture of it, but the mortal had been able to subdue him surprisingly quickly by switching on the television set and distracting him.

Now, the blond was sleeping seemingly peacefully beside him – even though it was still relatively early – while Dipper tried hard to ignore his unconscious mumbles and the occasional jabs in his side from the demon as he focused on reading to the end of his current chapter. Then, even though it would still be early, he’d probably go to sleep too.

Except that Bill seemed to have other ideas.

The moment he put down his book, a hand reached out and clawed at him, nails digging into his tender flesh so hard he wouldn’t have been surprised if they had drawn blood. He glanced over at Bill immediately, sure he was about to spring a trap on him that would have him just as terrified as he had expected to be, only to find that he was still sleeping – but not peacefully. The look of torment on his face was far from peaceful. He looked almost as if he was in pain – agony, even.

Deciding to take the risk of angering the demon by waking him, Dipper prised the blond’s hand away from his wrist and shook him gently, hoping to wake him from his torturous sleep without causing too many problems for himself. Well, he would have done. That was his intention, until he realised he could learn a lot from listening in on the demon’s barely coherent mumbles as he slept. If only he knew what he was dreaming about, then he could potentially have unbelievable insight when it came to defending himself and outsmarting him. But at the moment, the blond’s monotone mumbles seemed impossible to decipher.

Until he really started to listen. Most of it was still completely incoherent, but he did manage to pick up a few words here and there. A few words like “Stop”, “Please” and “Don’t.” Words he’d never thought he’d hear Bill say. Words he wasn’t even sure Bill knew the meaning of.

Only just having been able to grasp the meaning of some of the muttered words spewing from the demon’s mouth, Dipper wasn’t sure he’d be able to cope when the blond’s mumbles suddenly turned into uncontrolled sobs, a crescendo of torment ensuing. He was determined not to feel. Bill Cipher deserved this. He deserved to feel the way he had made him, Mabel and so many others feel about themselves. He deserved to have all his happiness ripped away from him, just like had done to countless others. And yet, he couldn’t help feeling a tiny bit of sympathy for him.

Maybe it wasn’t his fault he was such a monster. Surely something must have happened in the past to make him that way and given Bill’s age and immortality, a great number of things could have happened to turn him into what he had become.

He still hadn’t stopped crying out in anguish and Dipper had half a mind to wake him from the nightmare that was so brutally imprisoning him, though he was hoping the demon would wake up on his own so as not to incur his wrath. It was strange enough to think of the dream demon sleeping – though it made sense now that he was possessing a human body – let alone enduring a nightmare, but that must have been what was happening.

And then, after minutes of crying out until his voice became hoarse, the blond went silent. His eye – his single, yellow eye – opened with a start, blinking repeatedly until he finally settled his gaze brunet gazing down at him. “Pine Tree?” He coughed, almost choking, before rolling over onto his side and pressing his face against the human’s chest.

“It’s...” It’s okay. You’ll be alright. How could he say that? How could he treat this monster like he was a real human being, and one in need of being soothed at that? And wouldn’t he find that incredibly insulting anyway, giving his apparent distaste for human kind? “You had a nightmare. Well, I think so,” he added quickly, unsure of whether sleep was different for dream demons.

“That’s not possible,” Bill snapped back at him, his intended harshness being lost in the muffled sound of his voice. “I’m a dream demon, Pine Tree. I don’t have nightmares; I create them.” He paused, lifting up his head and observing the wetness of Dipper’s shirt – just where he had pressed his face against him. Curious, he wiped his hand across his cheeks and licked at his fingertips, intrigued by the salty taste of his tears. “Do something for me, Pine Tree. I need you to get me something.” 

The sudden change in the subject of conversation would have startled the brunet had he not become familiar with the demon’s strangeness already. “Fine. What do you need?” he asked as sympathetically as he would allow himself.

To his amazement, Bill simply looked up at him and shrugged. “No idea. Whatever it is you do when you… um, have a nightmare… I wanna do that.”

This wasn’t exactly going to be difficult, but it was surprising that Bill wanted to experience something so human. And did he just admit to having a nightmare? While Dipper wasn’t entirely ecstatic about the idea of giving in to him easily, he had to acknowledge that the demon had suffered and besides, he was showing no signs of having any intention of not getting his own way, so he stood up and headed downstairs to retrieve what the blond was after.

Milk. Hot milk, to be precise. And judging by the way he’d seen Bill attempt to drink out of a glass earlier that evening while they were eating their pizza, Dipper was almost one hundred percent certain that giving it to him in a mug could only end in disaster. So he found something else – something much more humiliating for the demon to drink it out of: a baby bottle. Hidden at the back of one of the kitchen cupboards was a bottle his parents had kept from a couple of years ago, when one their friends had come to stay and brought their daughter (who had been only a few months old at the time) with them. This is perfect, Dipper snickered to himself as he poured the hot drink into the bottle, a smirk appearing on his face as he mentally pictured the blond drinking from it. He was going to look so helpless… But at least he was getting what he wanted.

His smirk stayed in place as he carried the bottle up the stairs but he forced it to disappear by the time he re-entered the bedroom. “Here you go,” he said with a smile, handing the bottle over to the demon with an outstretched hand. “Hot milk. This always makes me feel better after… you know.”

Bill took it from him but stared at it for a moment, struggling to comprehend what he was meant to do with it. The smirk returned to Dipper’s face briefly as he climbed back into his bed, taking the bottle back from the blond in the process. “You drink it. Just put your head back.” The demon frowned at him but did as he was told, and Dipper instinctively put one arm around him and cradled his head, lifting the bottle up to the blond’s lips as he did so.

Once he had gotten the hang of drinking out of the bottle Bill insisted on doing it himself. Dipper obliged but couldn’t fight off the feeling of disappointment that came with knowing the demon was no longer under his control. By the time Bill was finished and placed the bottle on the floor next to the bed, Dipper was half-asleep beside him, curled up with the blanket beneath him. With his newfound feeling of serenity and a twinge of gratitude taking control, Bill slid the blanket out from underneath him and draped it over them both, adopting a similar position to Dipper’s as he laid back down to sleep.

This time, neither of them had any nightmares.


	4. Massages

Watching the mortal work himself half to death used to be entertaining, but now Bill was getting sick of it. It still gave him some slight amusement to see him expend so much energy struggling to accomplish something so superfluous, but not as much as it once did. Now it was just sad – and not to mention the fact that Dipper had hardly been paying any attention to the demon at all over the last week and a half. Every night, Bill materialised in his room and tried his best to distract him, conjuring up all sorts of mythical creatures and magical objects (and even threatening to harm his twin sister) in attempt to get his attention. And yet every night, whilst only half aware of the blond’s presence, Dipper spent several hours bent over his desk, studying.

Bill had had enough. He couldn’t take any more of Pine Tree’s determination to ignore him. But there was nothing that seemed to work – until he realised he’d been going about it the wrong way. Fighting back clearly wasn’t the way to get him to notice him. So instead he decided to try a different angle and be… thoughtful. That’s what Pine Tree really wanted – for him to be thoughtful.

He wasn’t really obeying him. No, it wasn’t being obedient if he was only going along with the mortal’s ridiculous ideas as a way of getting him to submit to him. He was just doing what he did best – manipulating a member of a lesser species. And Pine Tree was his favourite being to manipulate, albeit the hardest. The challenge was what made it so much more entertaining.

“You look tired,” he said eventually, shoving the textbook Dipper had been staring at for the last hour out of the way as he leaned over the desk, perching on the edge with a devilish glint in his eye. It was true and Dipper knew it; he was exhausted, but the mortal seemed to find exam scores more important than sleep. What Bill found particularly disconcerting was the way he considered working hard to improve his already high grades more important than having a good time. It was something that, as a demon, he had never really had to think about before.

The brunet simply groaned at him in response, rolled his eyes at him and quickly proceeded to make an attempt at pushing the demon aside so he could continue studying. Immediately realising that his inferior physical strength would make any attempt at moving the blond away from his desk unsuccessful, he leaned down to pick up his textbook, pushed back his chair turned his back on the demon, stifling a yawn as he walked over to his bed. Naturally, Bill followed after him.

Once the human had sat down on the edge of his bed and was focusing solely on his textbook again, Bill took a moment to consider his best options. He was aware of the fact that as a result of overworking himself over the last week or so, Dipper had been sleeping less and had complained on several occasions – not necessarily to Bill, but to himself and Mabel – that his body had been aching. His back and neck, to be more precise.

“Pine Tree,” he purred, climbing onto the bed behind the brunet and moving to sit with one leg either side of him. “Stop working so hard. You’ll work yourself to death.”

“Wouldn’t you enjoy that?” Dipper scoffed, his gaze remaining fixated on his work.

“Nah. Life wouldn’t be as much fun without you around, kid.” Dipper rolled his eyes again at his remark but Bill could tell he was secretly enjoying the attention the demon was giving him, even though he usually tried to avoid being noticed by him as much as possible. Leaning forwards slightly – pressing his chest against the mortal’s back – the blond snaked his arms around his waist and slid one hand up under his shirt, gently caressing his stomach with his fingers. “Pine Tree,” he purred again, jagged white teeth nipping at the brunet’s earlobe. “You’ve been complaining about your back for a while now. I could do something about it, you know, if only you’d stop studying for a minute and let me.”

That finally caught Dipper’s attention and he looked up from his book, turning his head to look the demon in the eye. “What are you gonna do?” he asked warily, wise to Bill’s tricks.

“You’ll see,” the blond smirked, suddenly shifting his position so that he was kneeling on the bed and pushing down on Dipper’s back with his hands, forcing him to lie flat on his stomach; the textbook was thrown off in some random direction in the process. Without giving the human the chance to reach, he slipped his hands up the back of his shirt and began kneading the flesh beneath his fingers, squeezing and twisting whenever he felt like it. Dipper didn’t seem happy about it at first, snapping at him to get off and let him study in peace, but he eventually started to feel more relaxed and let go of his previous reserves.

As Bill’s fingers travelled up to his shoulder blades and began rubbing gentle circles into his flesh, he lost all control and let his head drop, his mouth falling open slightly as he unsuccessfully attempted to supress a moan with his hand. Another smirk appeared on Bill’s face. Dipper hadn’t seen it but guessed it was there, having gotten to know the demon quite well over the period of time they’d spent together. This was new – this… this attempt at sentiment. He appreciated it more than the demon had predicted he would, even though he was aware that it may not have been as genuine as it seemed. He chose to disregard that awareness, allowing himself to melt into the feeling of Bill’s hands firmly caressing his skin, the soothing, tantalising sensations too tempting to resist.


	5. Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill is jealous when he sees Dipper flirting with Wendy.

He may not have been the most honest, but Bill hadn’t been lying when he’d said he was always watching. Even now, as he lingered in a dark world far from when the mortal stood, his gaze was fixed firmly on his target, a storm of jealousy, envy and rage brewing up inside him, growing stronger with every moment that passed. Every time Pine Tree’s eyes glistened; every small, flirtatious smile that appeared on his face whenever his eyes met hers… If Bill had been insane before, then what was he becoming now? An even more monstrous beast than any mere mortal had ever imagined him to be.

What did she have that he didn’t? He had everything. A universe to explore and manipulate at his will. A world of lesser beings at his beck and call. Anything he or anyone else could ever wish for, he could have. And yet Pine Tree continued to refuse him. What was perhaps the worst part of it all was that he knew that Pine Tree wasn’t completely opposed to the idea of them being together, although he tried incredibly hard to reject that thought. Every now and then, glimmers of the feelings he tried to keep hidden leaked out from the deepest, darkest depths of his mind and crept into his dreams, and then they weren’t so secret anymore.

Even now, in spite of the fact that he was aware the demon was watching him, Dipper still continued to ignore him, focusing all of his attention on Wendy. Laughing at everything she said, sending coy smiles in her direction in between the quiet sounds of their conversation, all the while urged to carry on by his twin sister, who was standing in a corner across the room from them as she watched. Bill had seen this before. He recognised it immediately. Flirting. Something the human had never bothered to do with him.

He wasn’t sure how much of this he’d be able to take without snapping. Not much, that was certain.

It only took another minute or so for his patience to run out. He told himself what he was feeling wasn’t jealousy – he wasn’t afraid of losing what little relationship he had with the mortal – and that it wasn’t envy either. He told himself that what he was feeling was mere anger, that it was unfair of Pine Tree to treat him so differently to how he treated Red. It was probably because he wasn’t human and she was. How selfish of him, to disregard someone simply because of something they had no control over – because of their appearance. Well, Bill thought to himself as he stared hard at the two mortals acting as if they were blissfully unaware of his burning rage, I’ll show you, Pine Tree. If he was only interested in Red because of how she looked, then Bill would just have to look even more appealing than her.

And luckily for him, he knew exactly how Pine Tree thought.

His anger subsided once the conversation between the two mortals ended and he took all that rage and envy he’d felt as he watched them and poured into his latest scheme, choosing to overlook Pine Tree’s behaviour temporarily as he set about fashioning himself a new form – a human form.

Blond hair – that was a given. Golden eyes too. No, a single gold eye. He could cover up the empty space where his left eye was supposed to be with an eyepatch. He stopped momentarily at that point, taking the opportunity to scold himself for having a thought so very human. Then it was back to work. He couldn’t go anywhere without a pitch black top hat and an ebony bow tie – even in another form. His skin was smooth and soft, the colour of caramel, his teeth sharp and white, primed for attack but not unappealing to look at. As for his clothes, he created himself a suit consisting of a floor-length black overcoat with gold embroidery around the edges, velvety black trousers and a silky white shirt. And not that he really needed to wear anything on his feet, he fashioned a pair of dark leather boots purely for show.

So when Dipper Pines fell asleep that night, expecting to be dreaming of the girl he’d spent most of the day talking to, he found himself instead imprisoned in chains, cool silver metal burning his skin and a grinning, one-eyed blond boy staring down at him with one hand wrapped around the end of the chain. “Did you really think I’d let you get away with it that easily?” the blond sneered, his lips pulling back to reveal a set of jagged teeth he would have preferred to keep away from.

“Wh- What?” Dipper stammered, raising his gaze to meet with the blond’s. And then realisation hit him. That voice. He may not have looked like Bill Cipher, but the voice was the same – the golden eye too, and the bow tie and the top hat. “I didn’t do anything,” he said defensively, making an attempt at sounding more confident than he really was.

“You know what, Pine Tree. That girl – Red. You were… talking to her.” Bill leaned back as he spoke, letting the weight of the chains keep him upright. “Not just that. You were… flirting. I didn’t like it.”

“I can tell,” Dipper snapped, digging his heels into the rocky ground below him and pushing himself forward, gritting his teeth as he glared at the demon. “It’s got nothing to do with you, Bill. Stay away from her!”

The defensiveness in his voice put a smirk on the demon’s face and struck him with a pang of jealousy. He had no interest in harming Red, but only in asserting his authority and claiming Pine Tree as his own. He was certain that what he felt towards the human wasn’t love – it was such a human emotion and he was proud to say that he was incapable of feeling it – but he definitely felt… something. That Pine Tree belonged to him and he was determined not to let anyone or anything get in the way of that.

“Protective of her, aren’t you?” He tilted his head as spoke, feigning innocence. “But that’s how I feel about you, Pine Tree. I just want to take care of you. Why won’t you let me do that?” Dipper said nothing in reply, but folded his arms across his chest (struggling, now that he had chains wrapped around his entire body) and continued to glare up at the blond. “I know you like me, kid. You just don’t want to admit it.”

Without warning, he tugged harshly on the chain, causing it to unravel and sending the mortal flying into a wall which suddenly materialised behind him. Bill was on him in a flash, pinning him to the wall with his entire body pressing hard against the brunet’s and his nails digging into his arms, holding him in place. Dipper squirmed on instinct, willing himself to wake up from the nightmare Bill had trapped him in, but to no avail. Bill was simply too strong for him.

“Come on, kid, just admit it. You like me. That’s okay. I know it’s hard for you to resist me, especially when I look like this…” Keeping one hand crushed against Pine Tree’s throat, he took a step back and gestured to his new, human form with his free hand. When he closed the distance between them again, he mentally noted the way Dipper’s pulse had quickened and how his breathing had become more erratic and shallow. “Relax, kid. It’s not like I’m going to hurt you or anything. I just want you to stop lying to yourself – and to me.”

“But Bill I’m…” Not. He was going to say that he wasn’t, that he was one hundred percent certain he was in love with Wendy and that Bill Cipher was nothing more to him than an enemy, nothing more than a monster hell bent on destroying his life. But he didn’t want to lie anymore. “I’m just not sure. I don’t know.” He lowered his gaze, hanging his head and Bill’s cold, piercing gaze softened. “I don’t know how I feel – about you, I mean, or about her. I thought…”

He had once thought he loved her; he had once been sure of that fact. But now, with feelings for Bill suddenly manifesting in the darkest recesses of his heart and mind, he just didn’t know. Bill didn’t know either – not really. He didn’t know what he felt; he couldn’t name it. He just knew that it was there and that it was strong – that it made him want to protect someone weaker than himself, someone that he had thought almost nothing of when they’d first met.

“That makes two of us.” Dipper looked up at the sound of his voice and found him leaning back against the wall, standing beside him with an almost gentle look in his eye. “I won’t hurt her,” the demon said after a moment of silence. “Red. She’ll be safe, but on one condition: you stop pretending you don’t have feelings for me.” It took a short while for his words to set in but then Dipper nodded his head and gave the demon what he needed. “So we have a deal?” Bill grinned, raising his palm to reveal a blue flame the mortal found all too familiar. But despite his hesitation, Dipper nodded again and connected their hands, both of them lingering just a little longer than usual before untangling their fingers, as if they couldn’t bear to let each other go.


	6. The Pirate & the Siren

That sound. He still remembered it, the perfectly smooth melodic notes lingering long after he had first heard them. Even now, as his eyes fluttered open and he started to scan his surroundings, the sound waves of that song continued to rebound off the sides of his skull like the waves of the ocean crashing into one another as they attacked the one thing he considered his own. He had lost it. Her. The Stone Cipher. And all because of that voice.

He blamed himself, really. If only he hadn’t been so weak. If only he hadn’t followed blindly, only acutely aware of the danger he was heading towards, then he wouldn’t have ended up like this – lost, drenched, and still hopelessly in love with the voice he had followed there. From where he was laying, he could see what had to be remains of his beloved ship, which had served him well over the last few centuries. Strangely enough, he had become more attached to her than almost any other of his many ships, probably because of the way she reminded him of his first. Now, as a result of his own recklessness and stupidity, she lay there shattered, pieces of her being taken by each wave that washed up onto the shore. He wondered when one would come far enough and with enough strength to take him away too.

The voice was growing louder now. He was probably mad, insane. Well, he knew was insane. He’d been insane for a long time and never once seen anything wrong with it, but now he was beginning to suspect his condition was worsening. Whoever had been singing earlier couldn’t still be doing it. They must have left by now. Otherwise, why wouldn’t they have helped him? Why would they have left him to die?

Because that’s what sirens did. It was all they knew how to do. Bill should have known; after all, he was a creature of a similar nature – one that thrived on the destruction and torment of others, one that reaped chaos wherever they went and wouldn’t have had it any other way. They sang with clear, hypnotic voices, mesmerising weaker beings with their song and tempting them towards the more dangerous of islands and the darkest of caverns hidden deep within the ocean. But no-one had ever seen one.

He hadn’t seen it yet, but he knew its name. Pine Tree. It had sung its name to him over and over until nothing but that was left engraved in his mind.

Standing up with a sigh and dusting the sand off his shirt and jacket, the blond shielded his eye from the sunlight and stared in the direction in which the voice was coming from, determined to be the first to catch a glimpse of the fabled siren. It no longer sounded as if the singing was coming from inside his own mind, but from the water out of which he himself had emerged. A gathering of sharp, jagged rocks reminded him of how he had lost his ship out of foolishness, but piqued his interest nonetheless. He crept closer, unable to keep his curiosity at bay, and that was when he saw it.

Scaly, leathery grey wings protruded from the creature’s back, spreading out majestically either side of him. A tail – azure in colour - very much like a mermaid’s flickered up from behind the being as he leaned against one of the rocks, breaking through the water’s surface with a magnificent crash of dark green waves. Bill hadn’t known what to expect. Certainly not this messy-haired, dark-eyed, bare-chested beast that rested against the rocks before him.

He was young. Or at least he certainly looked young, like a human in its teenage years, but with the body and mind of a monster – and the voice of an angel. What was so curious about him was the fact that he hadn’t left yet. Leaving their victims for dead was what sirens did. It was in their nature. So why – and how – was this one fighting against it? Why was he still here?

Hesitant and silent, Bill took a cautious step towards the siren, making sure to be as quiet as possible – not out of fear (he was absolutely certain he could beat the creature in a fight if it came down to that) but in attempt to give it no reason to flee. He wanted to get as close to the beast as possible without having it run away, hopefully close enough to touch it. Or maybe even have a conversation with it.

He was three feet away when he decided to speak, quietly and softly but with an air of authority and a look of determination gleaming in his golden eye. “You’re… You’re not like the others, are you? You’re Pine Tree.” He had more to say but held his tongue, choosing to wait for a reply before speaking again. If he ever got one.

The siren nodded its head and stared him dead in the eye. “That’s what you call me. Others call me Dipper. Come closer.” His voice – though still heavenly - trembled as he spoke, as if he was unused to speaking. This wasn’t surprising to the blond. Sirens only sung; they never spoke. He did as the creature said – although taking orders from others was something he despised doing – and approached the rock against which the siren was leaning. “You got hurt in the crash,” the brunet whispered almost inaudibly, gesturing towards Bill’s left wrist – a makeshift bandage made up of leaves found on the island was fastened around it, presumably covering a wound he had sustained when he had crashed his ship.

Bill had to fight off the urge to snarl then at the reminder that however beautiful or angelic the creature seemed, a siren’s ambition was always to seduce, imprison, and kill – even if they didn’t physically attack their victims the way other monsters did. “I never meant to hurt you,” Pine Tree insisted in his quiet, gentle, quivering voice. His words broke through everything Bill had thought he knew about the creature’s, immediately disrupting his peace of mind. “Honest,” the siren went on, tilting its head innocently.

“If you didn’t intend to kill me,” the blond started firmly, folding his arms across his chest defensively as his usual glare returned to his luminous yellow eye. “Then why did you lead me here?”

“I only wanted to see you up close. You- You’re so beautiful…” It was true and Bill knew it. Whether the siren really was being honest was insignificant; Bill lost all concentration once he knew his attractiveness and charm had been recognised. “I just wanted to get you here so that I could look at you a bit more. I really didn’t mean for you to get hurt.”

Bill had stopped listening already, his lips curled into a charismatic smile as his single eye glazed over with pride. His arrogance was his one and only flaw. That was a fact he had accepted long ago, but now he was losing focus of his surroundings and the potential threat the siren posed – he knew that his arrogance was his flaw, but now it was becoming a potentially fatal one.

He failed to realise the siren was moving until he found himself staring hard into its eyes, their faces almost touching. “Can I confess something to you?” Pine Tree asked with a slight tilt of his head. “I want to feel human… Don’t you?” No. Not at all. Bill Cipher wasn’t the least bit human and had no desire at all to feel like one. But before he could move away or even answer the creature’s question, he felt a soft pair of lips pushing against his own, making him melt with every movement, no matter how tiny or insignificant.

His eye closed on instinct, arms moving automatically to wrap around the siren’s waist. This simple action was even more intoxicating than the singing that had brought him there. If he had had any sense left, he would have pulled away immediately and run. Monsters like these were dangerous – perhaps even more dangerous than demons like him. Because they could manipulate even the most devious, seduce the most unwilling and gain the trust of the most cautious, simply using their voice. Until now, he had thought he could do all that and had been sure his powers of persuasion were unrivalled. But now he knew that a kiss from a siren was even more tantalising than an entire song.


	7. Volcanoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on a prompt by FreightTrainFrank.

He hadn’t a clue what to expect. That was mainly due to the fact that he was blindfolded, only able to see a glimmer of light burning through the black fabric covering his eyes as the demon guided him through a series of passageways. Wherever they were, they must have been somewhere hot – scorching, even. Under his bare feet, a rocky surface tore into his soft skin with its blazing heat and sharp, fiery stones that came close to ripping into him each time he was unfortunate enough to tread on them. He blamed it on Bill. If he had guided him getter, his feet wouldn’t have ended up sore and bloody by the time they reached their mystery destination.

It felt as though they’d been walking for hours. Perhaps he had, though Bill never walked anywhere; he only ever floated, feet dangling a few inches above the ground. It was lucky that he didn’t, as by the time they stopped Bill’s small black feet would have been just and battered and blistered as Dipper’s – although, knowing him, he would have actually enjoyed the pain that Dipper despised.

“Tired, Pine Tree?” the demon mocked as they neared their destination, tightening his grip on the human’s wrist as he tugged on him harder, propelling him forwards to make up for the human’s lack of energy and motivation.

“Of course not,” Dipper lied, the obvious smirk in Bill’s voice igniting a fury inside him that was only ever enflamed by the demon’s need for destruction and chaos. It always seemed to come with the price of putting him or his family in danger and he hoped to God that for once in his life the demon was doing something without manipulating countless innocents in the process and without causing any harm to anyone at all. It didn’t seem likely that it was possible, but still, hope sprang eternal.

Bill stopped abruptly, releasing his grip on the mortal’s arm and moving to place his hand at the back of his head instead as he untied the blindfold and removed it, letting it disappear into thin air the moment he took hold of it. “Believe me, kid,” the demon started, his eye squinting into a devious grin. “You’re going to like this.”

Dipper could only hope that he would.

Since the second he was able to, he had begun scanning his new environment for any clues as to what he was supposedly going to like and so far it had become apparent that they were definitely inside a cave of some kind – an excruciatingly hot kind. The shadows on the wall closest to them were accentuated by a blaze that had to have been coming from just around the corner, the entrance to which was guarded by an army of jagged, ominous-looking stalactites and stalagmites like the jaws of a fearsome beast. He took a shaky step back and swallowed. It suddenly dawned on him.

“You got it, kid,” the demon grinned, hovering in front of him and taking his hand in his. “We’re inside a volcano.”

Almost every shred of hope that this time he would escape the demon’s clutches without anyone getting hurt Dipper had been holding onto was thrown out the window once the realisation hit him. What on earth did Bill have planned this time? Why would they need to be inside a volcano? And how the hell was he going to get out of it? 

He didn’t have much time to think, with the demon suddenly throwing one arm around his shoulders and pulling him closer, hurling him towards the tunnel from which the blaze was coming from. Dipper dug his heels in the ground on instinct, praying he would succeed in stopping himself from colliding with the sharp stone jaws guarding the entrance he was hurtling towards but ultimately knowing that he wouldn’t. As he neared the entrance of the tunnel, he squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath, anxiously awaiting the agony that was to follow.

The pain never came. He grazed his head as he was dragged through the entrance and his hat was knocked off onto the ground, but that was it. He opened his eyes in surprise and whipped his head round, retrieving his hat before anything could happen to it, and stared up at Bill with wide eyes.

“You really need to relax,” the demon told him with a laugh. “Honestly, kid, the fun hasn’t even started yet and you’re already terrified!”

Fun? “I’m not sure we agree on what counts as fun, Cipher,” the human muttered as he started to look around, eyes immediately drawn to the colossal pit of fire a few mere yards away from him. And then the grinning, pink monster who was staring at him from within the pit. An enormous, dark pink cigar was sticking out her mouth and pointing in Dipper’s direction, the flame at the end of it flitting between various shades of pink every few seconds. It was a sight that, even after everything he’d seen since arriving in Gravity Falls a couple of months ago, still managed to bewilder and amaze the mortal. He stood there staring for a moment until Bill eventually nudged him with his elbow, attracting his attention.

“Pine Tree, meet Pyronica,” the demon announced, gesturing to the monster in the fire pit. Dipper focused his gaze on her again and raised his eyebrows, a pang of jealousy hitting him at the realisation that he probably wasn’t the only one Bill said was special. “Easy, kid,” the triangular demon laughed with a slight grin. “You’ll always be my favourite. Now, get in.” He gestured towards the pit of fire as he spoke, looking disappointed when Dipper made no move to follow his command. Seeing that asking him to get in wasn’t getting him anywhere, he reached out and nudged him again in the back, sending him flying towards the pit.

Dipper hit the lava with a splash and a piercing scream immediately followed. The moment his body crashed into the scolding liquid his breathing escalated and his heart hammered inside his chest, threatening to break free from his ribcage. He clung – with immense desperation – to the side of the pit, scrambling onto the rocky solid ground with incredible strength and power given to him by the adrenaline rush.

Once calm, he realised that the two monsters had been laughing at him for quite some time and he fixed his glare on Bill, narrowing his eyes in the process. “Come on, Pine Tree. You can do way better than that. We both know it,” the demon practically yelled, scolding him for his lack of perseverance.

“Bill!” Pyronica exclaimed, suddenly leaping to the mortal’s defence. This was the first time that Dipper had ever heard her speak and also the first time he had seen her lift her glowing cigar away from her mouth, even though she did so only briefly. “Leave him alone, Cipher. He’s just a human. Humans can’t handle the heat like we can.” She winked in Dipper’s direction, opened her mouth wide to reveal a set of jagged, monstrous teeth, and shoved the cigar back inside with an almost luminous grin.

“I’m only trying to toughen him up,” Bill snapped back, crossing his arms defensively as he slipped into the lava, leaning back against the rocky wall of the pit. “Humans are so weak…” He twisted round, his single glowing eye aiming right at Dipper. “What am I going to do with you, Pine Tree? You’ll burn in here if we don’t do something to make you… less human. You really need to be more like us.”

Dipper took only a moment to consider suggesting that he simply returned him to his own world immediately before discarding it as an idea Bill would never go for. The shock of something hot touching his shoulder distracted him and he jerked away, startled, only to find Pyronica smiling down at him, a sort of warmth in her eyes that Bill seemed unable to radiate. “Come and sit here,” she said, reaching out again and grabbing him by the shoulders, lifting him up away from the burning lava and sitting him down on the enormous cigar sticking out of her mouth.

He balanced precariously on it for several minutes, listening intently as the two monsters discussed their old lives and the many criminal plots they – along with their friends – had succeeded in pulling off. To be perfectly honest, Dipper was actually impressed by their commendable achievements in spite of the criminal nature of their feats, which he naturally disagreed with.

In a sudden and completely random movement, Pyronica reached out behind her back to grab something, unintentionally knocking the human off balance and throwing him off the cigar, causing him to plunge headfirst into the lava with a startled yelp. To his surprise – and relief – she scooped him up the moment he hit the fiery surface, cradling him in her arms as she lifted him out of the lava with ease. With a paroxysm of something close to gentleness, maybe even humanity, she leaned down and pressed her lips against his forehead – well, that was her aim, but the drastic difference between their sizes resulted in her swallowing him whole accidentally.

He gave out a muffled cry as he slipped down her throat, landing in a pool of burning acid with a scream. He screamed for Bill and when his throat started to hurt and tears began threatening to fall, he screamed for Bill in his head instead, knowing he’d be listening. He didn’t really expect Bill to follow after him though, even though that’s what he was silently asking him to do. And it just so happened that, after a minute or so, that’s exactly what Bill did.

His eye was squinting into a grin on his way down, his arms waving enthusiastically in the human’s direction as their gazes met. “Having fun, Pin Tree?” Dipper did nothing but scowl in response, leaping up out of the acid in an attempt to stop the pain in the lower half of his body. On his way back down he suddenly found himself floating, rising up above the acid and moving towards the triangular demon, who was holding out his arms and caught him in a rough, tight embrace.

“Thanks,” Dipper muttered grudgingly, though he really was grateful for what Bill was doing.

“No problem, kid. It’s what I’m here for.” Dipper didn’t quite know what to make of that remark so he said nothing until he remembered that getting out of the monster’s stomach was his priority, at which point he demanded to be let out. “Nah,” Bill yawned lazily, settling down in the acid but holding the human up so as not to hurt him. “Let’s just stay here for a while. It’s nice in here, don’t you think?” 

“No, Bill. I really don’t,” Dipper snapped, tightening his grip on the demon’s arms simultaneously. “It’s not nice here. It’s… It’s… It’s scary.” As much as he hated admitting his fear to the demon, he was aware of the fact that he probably already knew without him stating it explicitly.

“Yeah, and I’m a nightmare, remember? It’s supposed to be scary.”

“How could I forget?” the human muttered, burying his face into the demon’s flat surface, idly nuzzling his cheek against the spot just above his eye. Bill didn’t say anything else, simply holding him in silence, until the level of acid in Pyronica’s stomach rose to the point where he could no longer hold the human out of its reach. Sensing Bill’s movements, Dipper sleepily opened one eye and glanced at him questioningly. Time to go now? he asked inside his mind, too tired to sit up and speak.

Bill replied to him in the same way. You’re lucky I like you enough to get you out of here, kid.

Dipper closed his eyes again for no more than a moment and yet once he opened them again, the acidic lining of Pyronica’s stomach had vanished, replaced with the familiar rocky cave that held within it the pit of lava he so desperately wanted to avoid. She was still there, still smiling, watching as Bill put him down on the ground and hovered above him, trying to get a good look at any potential injuries the human may have sustained. After concluding that he was in fact in perfect physical health – though Dipper disagreed, the burning sensation lingering in his feet being proof that there was indeed cause for concern – Bill lowered himself to the ground and turned back to the grinning pink monster.

“Thanks for that. Pine Tree had a great time, didn’t you?” He nudged the human with his elbow, prompting him to nod and agree with him automatically. “But we’d better be going now. Pine Tree’s human friends will be wondering where he’d gotten to,” he smirked, clearly mocking him and implying that in reality, he had no human friends. He had Mabel. That was all.

The lava shifted suddenly, shaking from side to side under Pyronica’s movements as she rose up from her seated position and approached the human, most of her body remaining hidden beneath the lava. Waving goodbye with one hand, she smiled and took her cigar from her mouth, blowing a puff of wispy pink smoke directly at him. As the smoke descended onto him, he heard the sound of Bill clicking his fingers and then the pink suddenly turned to black, silence quickly following after.

That’s when he woke up – hot, charred and covered in ash.


End file.
